I first worked with John Hardy last year, when he kindly took part in a video on a song I released. This year he has a much bigger project as he launches a new album next month, and he kindly took time to discuss his music.
How did you get involved in music John and who are your influences?
I grew up in Hull and to be fair I wasn’t aware of any musical heritage until The Housemartins turned up, before that it was mainly karaoke. Although perhaps that’s a bit unfair, my dad was into modern jazz (not even the stuff that has a tune) and my mum had a John Denver cassette. So, make of that what you will.
Music started for me as a teenager and just learning to play the guitar in my bedroom, which is fairly typical. I always wanted to write songs, so I remember my first song being a reworking of ‘Hello Mary Lou’ by Ricky Nelson; I’d heard the song on an advert and it had captured me. I don’t really know what made me write a song, and I still don’t really understand my need to do it.
So, growing up I played in bands, and it took me a while to figure out what I wanted to be playing. I think a big change for me was when I was in a band called LOMAN. We were together for about 2 years and gigged, and recorded, and wrote, and drove up and down motorways a lot. We would work really hard at getting the songs right, and stuff that wasn’t good enough would be thrown away. It’s hard to have quality control when it’s your own stuff that your writing, but being in that band really helped me consider whether I was happy with a song, or whether it was just another filler in a set list.
Inspiration is a really difficult one to answer. I always think there are two lists of inspirations that artist carry around; one that is a list of cool musicians, and the second list that is full of guilty pleasures that they won’t own up to. So in no particular order: Dylan, The Streets, Artic Monkeys, Loudon Wainwright III, Dire Straits, Van Morrison, Boo Hewerdine. Even then I’m not really happy with that list as it doesn’t really explain which songs of theirs’ I’ve taken from. So just to illustrate from Dylan I’ve mostly taken the guitar playing.
As we start to see an end to the Covid restrictions can you tell us if the whole of lockdown affected your music?
This is a tricky question as I realise that everybody has their own experience of this, mine has been pretty positive but I’m acutely aware of how shit it has been, and still is for millions of people. I’m disappointed we live in a country where we let people fall through the cracks.
That said, for me lockdown was a gift. I have two young children and was able to work from home. Bit frightening at first but then I realised that I wouldn’t really get another chance to spend that much time with my kids, they’ll grow up and be around less. Creatively I spent a lot of time on the guitar, so I think my playing improved. My singing declined as I wasn’t gigging so not using my voice, also there was so much wine to drink! So that affected my vocals.
I was in the middle of recording my album [Old Park Dreams] when lockdown hit, so it felt really frustrating, but what it actually gave me was so much time to listen to what I’d already put down and really work through the arrangements. So, I really focussed on the music as opposed to the vocal, which I think makes for a much stronger album. Previously I was like; if I’m not singing the songs over. Which I think is more about a lack of confidence in keeping people’s attention.
One song on the album was directly influenced by that strange time we all shared. Dream Small is a little bit about lockdown/BLM/Brexit/and a lack of faith in the future. The 3rd verse is specifically about something I read about Donald Trump removing statues and paintings in the White House. I think there was a bust of Martin Luther King that he got rid of and it just felt that he was trying to rewrite history to just a white narrative. Then there was all the BLM stuff happening over the summer and the statue being pulled down in Bristol. I didn't want to write specifically about all those things, as political songs can date but also, I don't know if they change anybody's mind, but this song just came out. There's a not entirely cloaked reference to a 'white house' so I've stretched the metaphor a little to include all white people who have been responsible for writing our history. I don’t’ often write stream of conscience stuff as I am usually a little more deliberate about the songs I write and what I want them to say.
What is your latest release?
Old Park Dreams is my new album. It’s my second release and it just needed doing. There were three other songs that didn’t make it onto the album, which were recorded first. Part of the journey of this album was finding it’s musical vocabulary and then finding the songs that sit together as a coherent collection. I really enjoyed making it this way, and to be honest had lockdown not happened I think it would have been more rushed, those three songs would have been stuck on it and it might have felt more like some recorded songs stuck on a CD. I’m really happy with what I’ve got as I think the whole thing has a mood and tone, which is what my favourite albums by other artists do.
Where can folks get to see/hear your music?
Well, there’s a launch gig for the album at the Running Horse on 25 March 2022, which I’m really excited about as we’ve managed to pull a 7 piece band together. Also, Tash Bird has agreed to do the support slot, which is a bit of a coup.
Can you list your social media links?
www.ourmatejohn.bandcamp.com John Hardy | Facebook
Twitter - @ourmatejohn
Insta – ourmatejohn
Available to stream in all streaming places
What's next for you?
Well, there’s those three songs that are still in the studio, so there’s a possible single out later in the year, although I am think about making a country album next.
All pics by Ashley Tenedekai "Flavolous" Chanakira
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